Now, even the spin-masters over at Redmond's Fortress of Solitude have realized that promoting yet another iteration of Windows Mobile (without apps) is likely to be an uphill battle.

And that is why Steve "Balmy" Ballmer reportedly decided that every one of Microsoft's 90,000 employees was to be dutifully equipped with a Windows Phone - like it or not.

But now Microsoft seems to be taking its free giveaway program to the next level by handing out at least 100 Windows-powered smartphones to AT&T store reps in Minnesota.

As the folks at Electronista point out, such a strategy is "relatively rare" in the industry and may be following the approach taken by Apple when the iPhone first launched in June 2007.

While this explanation is certainly plausible, there is one key difference: Apple's sleek and sexy iPhone is a hot item that consumers (fanbois and noobs) all over the world lust after in the worst possible way.

It is doubtful that anyone could, or would be willing to say the same about Microsoft's scrubby Windows Phone 7.